Out With a Bang
by YumKiwiDelicious
Summary: Shock has gotten old enough to live with the witches of Halloween Town, but Lock and Barrel have decided they're not letting her leave without playing one last prank for the history books. Lock/Shock. HIATUS
1. Young Witch

Shock sighed in absolute boredom. She was strewn across her dark purple bed with her head dangling off the edge. She stared at the dusty wall in a daze. In the last seven years, Oogie's lair had become exceedingly dull. At sixteen, Shock found no pleasure in simply teasing her cohorts anymore. She sighed and blinked for the fifth time in the last minute.

Instead of being a short shapeless girl, Shock had gotten a great deal taller (leveling out with Sally Skellington) and gained slight curves in her thin body. Her skin had lost its odd green tint and was now simply pasty. Her once stringy hair was now thick and black, curling down to the middle of her back. She'd abandoned her baggy purple dress for a fitted knee length one that Sally had stitched for her.

Halloween Town had grown almost comfy with the lack of pranks from the troublesome trio. They hadn't even bothered pranking anyone in months. It just wasn't fun anymore. Shock rolled onto her stomach and groaned as the doorbell screamed in every room of the house. Someone was outside. She furrowed her brow and frowned. No one ever came to the house unless one of the teens living within had done something wrong. The door rang again.

"Barrel," she yelled up at the ceiling, "get the door!"

"You get it!" came the muffled, deep voice.

"Lock?" she called, switching her approach. There was a loud curse from down the hall and she sat up in bed.

"Get it yourself!" the devil yelled angrily. The door bell screamed again and Shock growled in anger. Jumping from her bed she stomped out of her room and down the dark hall.

She had just passed Lock's door when she back tracked angrily and kicked the door open. The seventeen year old devil jumped up in surprise and turned to Shock. He wore red pajama pants but no shirt. Shock frowned as she noticed he was sweating and the tips of his fingers were burnt.

"What're you doing that's so important you cant answer the door?" she sneered, crossing her arms haughtily.

Lock had grown even taller than Shock, with his horns giving him another inch and a half to boot. His bright yellow eyes had darkened slightly and he'd grown muscles in his arm and legs. His teeth weren't as sharp anymore and flashed beside his white skin. He narrowed his eyes at Shock now, his long tale switching angrily.

"Nothing," he growled, "now get out of my room!" The door bell sounded again and Shock rolled her eyes.

"Whatever," she mumbled turning away. She jogged quickly through the dirty house towards the door. She slipped on her long black socks as she reached the door, wrenching it open. It was high noon and the jack-o-lantern sun flashed in her eyes. Stepping out onto the ledge she looked down towards the forest floor and saw a tall skeleton looking back up at her.

"Jack Skellington," she called, stepping onto the old cage brim. The three of them had out grown it years ago. Tugging slightly she lowered down till she was standing before the Pumpkin King.

"Shock," Jack greeted with a polite nod. "I came here to speak with you personally."

"What about?" Shock asked suspiciously, crossing her arms once more. Jack smirked at her stance and motioned for her to walk beside him. The two strolled away from the house and into the surrounding trees.

"Well, you passed your sixteenth birthday quite a few months ago," he started slowly.

"Yeah, so?" Shock snapped. Jack held up a hand to silence her.

"So, it has come to the attention to the town witches that you're of age to move into their mansion and further your training."

Shock had frozen a few steps behind the skeleton. He turned to her, arms folded behind his back and waited for her to speak. She opened and closed her mouth repeatedly like a fish and let her eyes wonder towards the town.

"What training?" she squeaked finally.

"Well you cant expect to live in Oogie's old hide out forever can you?" Jack reasoned, gesturing towards the decaying house. Shock frowned and stared at her home. She'd never planned to live anywhere else. Jack continued on when she turned back to him.

"You're a young witch, and being as such, you must learn from the older witches so that one day you'll be ready to go to the human world on Halloween night."

Shock nodded in understanding, still feeling surprised. "Well…" she murmured lowly, "can I have some time to think about it?"

Jack's eye holes widened before he scratched the vertebrate on his neck nervously. "I'm sorry, Shock…but it's not really an option."

Shock took the words as if they were a blow and staggered back a step. She'd never expected or wanted to live anywhere else but with her cohorts inside the old hide out. And now suddenly she was being forced to move into town with the witches. She glared at Jack, clenching her fists, and turned on her heal.

"It's my life," she yelled back over her shoulder, "I'll live where I want and not you or anyone else can change that!" She broke into a run and made it back to the tiny cage. Stepping onto it, she was yanked upwards quickly and stumbled onto the ledge.

Moving into the house, she slammed the front door behind her with all her might. The walls shook and she was sure part of the door had splintered. She ran up the stairs and walked briskly down the hallway. Lock stepped out from his room, into her path, glaring at her.

"Why the hell did you slam the-"

"Get out of my way!" she snapped, pushing him roughly to the side. Her eyes stung oddly and when she touched them, her fingers came back wet. Lock ran after her, enraged at being pushed aside. They reached Shock's room and she turned to slam the door in his face, but he stuck his hand out and stopped it.

"What's your problem?" he hissed, his horns growing from his anger. Shock glued her eyes to his feet and struggled against the door.

"Just leave me alone," she grumbled. Lock frowned at her as a tear splashed onto the wood floors, not unheard by his sensitive ears. He released the door and Shock stood back with a loud sniff. He tilted his head to one side in utter confusion. Shock had ever cried about anything.

"What's wrong?" he asked, teeth bared. He would rip apart whoever upset Shock like this. She shook her head and glared up at him finally.

"I said leave me alone!" she all but screamed hysterically before slamming the door in his face.


	2. Little Devil

Barrel came waddling down the stairs a few minutes after Shock's rampage of slamming doors. The round child had turned into a round teen, standing much shorter than his two counterparts. His teeth were practically rotten with all the candy he ate. His pale skin was still a bit on the blue side but Lock had predicted it would go away after her passed his sixteenth birthday like he and Shock had.

Barrel stepped into the hallway and saw Lock sitting on the ground across from Lock's door. His tail flicked beside his head in agitation and he was glaring into the open air. Barrel raised an eyebrow, shoving a chocolate bar into his mouth. Moving forward he stopped next to Lock and looked back and forth between him and Shock's door. Something was definitely wrong with this picture.

"What's going on?" he asked around his mouthful of chocolate. Lock shot him and icy look before turning his eyes back to Shock's door.

"Shock's upset," he said angrily, still unhappy about the fact.

"Why?" Barrel wondered. "What'd you do this time?" Lock jumped up like a cat and towered over his youngest friend. His horns grew and he poked his finger roughly to Barrel's chest.

"I haven't _done_ anything, and if you ever say something as stupid as that again I'll roast you!" Barrel shrank back in fear and held up his hands in surrender.

"Ok, ok, my bad," he mumbled. Lock turned away and started pacing furiously between Shock's door and his own. "Why don't you just ask her what's wrong?" Barrel asked as Lock turned in front of him about to pace back. He was smacked in the face by the devil's tale instantly.

"I've tried that, genius," Lock growled rolling his eyes when an idea struck him. Spinning on Barrel he grabbed the younger boys shoulders. "But _you _haven't!"

"Huh?" Barrel was severely confused as Lock pushed him in front of Shock's door.

"When you try to bring Shock out, she'll open the door to tell you to go away and then I'll get inside," Lock whispered stepping away from the door so as no to be seen right away.

"I don't know about this, Lock," Barrel quivered nervously, glancing at Lock's door.

"Have courage man!" Lock said, smacking his shoulder and nodding towards the door. Barrel raised a shaking fist and knocked cautiously.

"I said go away, Lock!" Shock yelled tiredly from within. Barrel glanced at Lock who nodded encouragingly.

"It's Barrel." His voice was barely above a gasp but she apparently heard him as the lock on the door clicked open. Pulling the door open slightly, Shock frowned out at her friend sadly.

"Look, Barrel, I just want to be left alo-"

"Gotcha!" Lock cried, jumping at the door. He forced it open, Shock tripping backwards. He stood in the doorway, arms crossed triumphantly and Shock shot daggers at him. If looks could kill…

"What the hell?!" the young witch shrieked. "I told you I didn't want to talk! Get out!"

"Not till you tell us whats wrong!" Lock challenged. Barrel groaned internally, not wanting to be dragged into it.

Stomping angrily, Shock charged Lock and caught him off guard. She pushed him mostly out the door and slammed the door in his and Barrel's face loudly. Shoving the dead bolt into place she turned back to her bed.

As she went to step away from the door something brushed against the back of her legs. Spinning around Shock looked down and her hands shot up to her mouth to hold back a surprised scream. Lock's tail was twitching wildly in the crack between the door and the wall. Shock had slammed it in there when turning the boys away.

The tail brushed against her again and she jumped into action. Undoing the lock with shaking fingers she threw the door open and came face to face with Lock. His eyes were wide and glazed over. His face as even paler then usual and his mouth hung open slightly. Taking a deep breath he slowly lowered his tail to his side. As it fell limp against his leg he took a sharp intake of breath. Shock could tell he was trying to fight off the pain and he was doing a decent job until…

"Woah, tough break, Lock," Barrel said, reaching down and poking the red appendage.

"YOWWW!!!" Lock screamed, jumping back from the other boy. His eyes flashed angrily and suddenly steam was puffing from between his lips. "You stupid son of a bitch!"

Barrel screamed as Lock went charging after him. Shock stepped out of Lock's way then went chasing after them. Together they all went ripping down the hall. Barrell tripped on the stair case and Lock barely caught himself on the banister. Shock wasn't so lucky. She tripped over Barrel's still form and fell head first down the last few steps. She landed with a 'smack' on the wood floor and was barely able to roll out of the way before Barrel did the same. The two jumped up and Barrel kept running as Lock leapt the last few steps and followed

"Stop, you idiots!" Shock screamed trying to keep control. Lock was now chasing Barrel around their old couch. "Knock it off before you kill each other!"

Lock was quickly growing impatient and he could feel his hands starting to heat up. He ran around one end of the couch just to have Barrel run around also. Growling he leapt over the side and just hardly missed grabbing Barrel by the shirt before he slipped around to the other end of the couch again.

"That's it!" the devil screamed as Barrel bolted for the stair case. The palm of his right hand suddenly held a roaring fire ball. He aimed, and threw it at Barrel.

"Barrel look out!" Shock screamed. Barrel tripped and the fire ball flew over his head harmlessly, bursting against the staircase. "Lock stop it!"

Lock was beyond listening as he formed another fire ball. This one was bigger then the last and aimed right at Barrel's back. He cocked his arm back as Shock raced up the stair case. He threw it just as she stepped in front of Barrel.

"No!" he screamed in agony as he saw where it would land. Shock glanced behind her and screamed, throwing her arms around Barrel and throwing them both tumbling back down the stairs for a second time. Had she been wearing her usual witches hat it would've been destroyed by the fireball.

The two trick-or-treaters landed hard on the ground once more, gasping in fear. Lock raced over and looked down at his friends, Barrel looked like he was going to be sick, his blue face tinting green. Shock stared at the ceiling, eyes wide in fear, her hands shaking where they clutched Barrel's shirt.

"Shock," Lock gasped moving to help her up, "I'm so…sorry."

"What _was that_, Lock?! You almost killed Barrel!" she shouted, yanking her arm away from him and helping Barrel off the floor. Lock frowned and crossed his arms, his tail still hanging uselessly behind him.

"I'll give you answers when you give me some," he declared confidently.


	3. Birds of a Feather

"Hurry up and get on the counter," Shock grumbled as she lead Lock into the old houses filthy kitchen. The three pranksters hardly ever used it since they lived on a diet of candy.

Lock huffed in reply and eased himself onto the counter top, careful not to sit on his tale. Shock stepped to every drawer in the kitchen, yanking them open violently, grumbling to herself. Finally she opened one and reached far into the back of it.

"We actually have bandages?" Lock asked, trying to remember ever using them. Shock rolled her eyes as she pulled out her old, neglected wand. The witches of Halloween Town had cut it especially for her out of a tree in the forest. This would be her first time using it.

"No, I can use magic to fix it," she sighed, turning to face her old friend. Lock's eyes widened and he turned slightly away from Shock.

"But you've never used it before," he tried to reason, "Why start now? On _me_!"

Shock was offended and clutched her wand tightly. Lock and Barrel had always doubted her abilities as a witch. They didn't know she practiced her spells every time they went out and left her home alone. She was a very competent witch and was sure she was ready to use her wand.

"Just sit still," she hissed, raising her wand, "I can do this."

Lock groaned and screwed his eyes shut. His tail lay limply on the table and Shock took a deep breath before waving her wand through the air.

"Magic wand, with magic tricks, what is broken you must fix." She aimed at her cohort's tail and an odd purple glow appeared around the appendage.

Locks jaw nearly hit his lap as his previously broken tail was mended. He raised it slowly and found that all the pain he'd been in was replaced by a barely noticeable ache. Shock twirled her wand cockily between her fingers before replacing it to where it had been. After slamming the jammed drawer shut she turned on Lock and crossed her arms over her small chest.

"Alright," she began haughtily, "what the hell was with that fireball?"

"Woah, woah," Lock scoffed, hopping off the table, "first you tell me why you slammed my tail in a door."

"That was an accident and you know it!" Shock hissed angrily. Lock growled and copied her by crossing his arms across his chest.

"You know what I mean."

Shock sighed and it was like her attitude leaked out of her along with the oxygen. She completely deflated and sunk into a kitchen chair with her face buried in her hands. Lock immediately went to her and put and arm on her back but she turned away from him not meeting his eye.

"You know when the door rang earlier today?" she murmured into her hands. Lock nodded, knowing it was unnecessary. "It was Jack Skellington outside."

The devil pressed his lips into a grim line, his jaw setting. He respected the Pumpkin King but he wasn't above ripping him bone from bone if he hurt Shock. "What'd he want?" he asked, trying to remain calm. Shock sat ack in the chair, her head lolling over the back.

"And you know how I'm sixteen now?" she asked, tears slipping down her ale face.

"Right," Lock hissed, becoming impatient, smoke rose up from his lips unnoticed by Shock. The young witch turned to face the devil, a frown carved into her features.

"He says I have to go live with the witches in town from now on to finish my training," she said, her voice nearly that of a whisper.

Lock's face blanked as he processed what she was saying. In some distant memory he recalled hearing all witches eventually had to live together in Halloween Town, but for some reason he'd never put Shock in that category.

"He can't do that!" he spat, a burst of fire escaping his mouth as he jumped to his full height. Sure the witches' house was only twenty minutes away in town but it was the principle of the matter. Shock should be allowed to live anywhere she wanted and she wanted to live with them.

"I actually think he can," Shock sniffed, wiping her face incase Barrel walked in. "I have to finish being trained if I want to go to the human world on Halloween someday."

Lock stopped his frenzied pacing for all of two seconds. He'd never known that was something she wanted to do. "Well you can still live here and get training there," he tried to reason.

"That doesn't make sense, idiot," Shock hissed icily. Lock spun on her and leaned over, grabbing the arms of the chair. His face was centimeters away from hers, his yellow eyes glowing.

"Don't you _want_ to stay here with me and Barrel?" he snapped, horns lengthening in the process. Shock looked down at her lap, nervously.

"Yes, but…I want to be like the other witches too. I want to be in control of my powers and I _want_ to travel to the human world on Halloween."

She shrank back into her chair at the end of her speech. She'd never admitted that to anyone. Lock glared down at her, more hurt than he was willing to admit. So much for three of a kind. He growled angrily before roughly pushing her chair away. It bumped into the counter and she hopped out of it. She stepped towards him but he brushed by her, not wanting to talk about it

He stomped to the door and pushed it open, flames scorching the face of it. They hadn't even gotten around to talking about the fireball. He'd been getting new powers for a few months now. He could control fire and it shot from his mouth at moments. He wanted more than anything to share his abilities with Shock. To empress her and surprise her after years of having her know everything about him. But now she was leaving him. Them.

He turned to face her before he stepped out of the kitchen. She looked torn and her eyes were cast at the dirty floor of their kitchen. Birds of a feather.

"Now and forever," he snapped before he could stop himself. Shock's eyes snapped up to him and she tilted her head to one side in confusion. "Bet you don't remember that do you?" he grumbled just barely loud enough for her to hear. With that he exited the kitchen leaving her alone with her thoughts.


	4. Midnight Meeting

Shock sighed as she hung up the cat shaped phone in her room. She'd been talking to Jack Skellington for the last hour about her impending move. She was supposed to have all her necessary things packed and ready to go in exactly a week. The witches would come and transport it for her on the seventh day. She'd start training immediately the next day.

The young witch hugged her pillow to her chest as she laid down on her bed. She felt bad about the argument she'd had with Lock. She'd dropped the bomb of wanting to go on with the other witches quite suddenly and wasn't sure how he was taking it. He probably hated her. She hugged her pillow tighter and screwed her eyes shut. She didn't want to leave the house on bad terms with him. They were too close.

Sitting up she tossed her pillow aside and stood up from her bed. The sun had gone down some time ago and the house was cast in darkness. She didn't need light to find her way around though. Living in the same place since you've died gets you pretty familiar with it. She padded out of her room and down the hall way to Lock's if he was awake he would probably hear her stocking covered feet tip toeing to his door.

She reached his door and leaned on it, pressing her ear to the center. It was totally quiet inside for her ears but that didn't mean much in Halloween Town. Raising one hand she tapped her index finger lightly on the wood, barely eliciting a small 'tap, tap, tap.' After a few silent seconds she figured he was really sleeping or if not he wasn't going to let her in. Frowning, she let her nails scrape down the door in frustration, hoping to wake him.

There was shuffling on the other side of the door before it creaked open. The angry devil glared out at her, hair mussed up and chest bare. His yellow eyes glowed in the darkness as he leered at her.

"What do _you_ want?" he hissed, not bothering to whisper. Barrel slept like a log, alone on the top floor.

"To talk obviously," Shock breathed shifting from foot to foot. Lock looked about to slam the door in her face before thinking better of it and pushing the door open for her to enter.

She nodded as she passed his into his dark room. Moon light filtered in from the window onto his bed. Without hesitation she hopped into like when they were younger and hugged his pillow, breathing deeply. It smelled like him. Lock stared at her on the bed before taking a seat on the window sill instead.

"What'd you want to talk about?" he asked, the silhouette of his healed tail flicking near the window.

Shock shrugged, eyes preferring to stare out the window at the moon. "Why does it bother you so much that I want to be a better witch?"

"You're a fine witch," Lock growled. "You don't need to move away to get better at using magic."

"You don't believe that," Shock spat. "You were afraid to let me heal your tail this afternoon."

They both fell silent in the darkness. Shock wouldn't admit it out loud but the doubts Lock and Barrel had of her powers hurt. Lock especially. Not that she'd ever tell him of course.

"I can be better," Shock said at last. Lock tilted his head to the side. "I can be a _great _witch, not just_ fine_."

"You _are _great," Lock grumbled, his voice barely audible.

"You don't know any better," Shock said without thinking. She slid her hand over her mouth as soon as the sentence had escaped and fixed her eyes on the opposite wall. She knew Lock hated being spoken to like a child. She didn't want him to throw another fireball at her.

"I know enough!" he snapped, standing up in anger. Shock stood up too and set her fists on her hips. They faced each other, both glaring in the moon light.

"No, you don't! None of us do! We've spent our entire after lives in this house completely isolated from everyone else unless we were pranking them! Everyone hates us and this is probably he only way I'll be accepted into town! Why can't you just be happy for me?" She stepped around him to storm out, but he grabbed her elbow at the last second.

She turned around expecting to be met with his wrath but instead found him staring into space, his mouth turned down in a sad frown. He pulled her to the bed and sat her down. His eyes were now set on the floor and looked pained; he sat beside her, raising a hand to rub his jaw slowly.

"I _am_ happy for you," he said slowly, not too convincingly. "But I don't want you to leave us, Shock."

Shock sat up straighter in surprise. This was the closest any of them had ever come to expressing some sort of emotional connection to another. The fact that it was coming from Lock was more surprising than the event itself.

"I'd still be near by," Shock stammered after a few minutes of awkward silence. Lock caught her in a dead lock gaze and she shivered.

"It wouldn't be the same," he said quietly. Shock noticed for the first time that he was still gripping her elbow.

"But I'd be right in town with-"

"You wouldn't be _here_," he pressed, tightening his grip. Shock tilted her head to one side as his cheeks heated up and he turned to face the window.

"I'll miss you too, Lock," she whispered sheepishly, staring down into her lap. His hand disappeared from her elbow and she looked up to find him staring at her in a resigned expression.

"You really want to do this; to live with them instead of us?" he asked seriously. Shock bowed her head, strands of long black hair falling over her shoulder to cover her face.

"Just until I prefect my powers," she said trying to sound apologetic. She knew now that this was hurting him too.

Lock sighed and turned his head up to face the ceiling. Without thinking he reached over and laced his hand with Shock's. She jumped in surprise but didn't pull away. His large hand was warm around her smile frigid one.

"Alright fine," he groaned, rolling his head to face her. "How long until you leave?"

"Seven days?" Shock said in confusion. Lock flinched looking like she'd pinched him but regained control. Standing he pulled Shock to her feet and started pushing her towards the door.

"Ok get out," he said, "I have some thinking to do."

"But what-"

"You're not leaving this house until we plan one last great prank for the town to remember you by." They'd reached the door now and Lock pushed Shock past the frame and she spun to look at him. He'd always been the prank planner but it'd been months.

"Lock, I don't know about-"

"Get some sleep," he ordered before closing the door on her. There was a loud click as he locked it and left Shock alone in the hallway.

"Lock," she whispered, shaking her head doubtfully.

**Can't be sure when the next update will be since I'm in school so hope everyone liked this! :D I'll be trying to squeeze in an update for my other stories as well so look out for those! Byeee!**

**Thanks for reading!**

**~monie**


	5. Something's Up With Lock

"Shock!" Barrel yelled waddling down the stairs. "Shock! SHOCK!"

"WHAT!?" Shock yelled startling her cohort. She'd been napping on their old couch with a large spell book covering her face. Barrel yelped in surprise as she sat straight up, the book clattering to the floor.

"Cripes, don't scare me like that, Shock," he wheezed placing a meaty hand over his chest. Shock rolled her eyes before stretching her soar back until it popped.

"What do you want?" se grumbled, standing. Barrel shook his head, remembering why he'd come down in the first place.

"Shock, something's wrong with Lock."

"You're just now figuring that out?" Shock scoffed incredulously as she padded into the dusty old kitchen. Barrel followed close behind, wheezing as he went.

"Shock, for serious! It's been three days since he's come out! What if he's dead or something?!"

"He's not dead," Shock hissed, leaning against the counter in exhaustion. She could barely sleep these a days with her impending move looming in front of her. She knew Lock wasn't dead, but not because she'd seen or talked to him. She'd leave a plate of food in front of his door everyday and return to an empty dish. He hadn't so much as offered a thank you for any of it.

"How can you be sure?" Barrel pressed.

"I just do ok!" Shock snapped. "Call it witches intuition."

Barrel scoffed and rolled his eyes towards the ceiling. "Well some witch you are anyway."

Shock gripped the edges of the counter till it was in danger of cracking. Nearly everyday she'd wonder why she should go to live with the witches. Why she shouldn't just stay with her friends and be happy. And then Barrel would open his mouth and it'd all become clear again.

"Shut up, Barrel," Shock grumbled just as a bang was heard from upstairs. They both spun around as footsteps could be heard pounding down the stairs. Running out into the living room they both saw Lock for the first time in three days.

His hair was sticking up to the point wear you couldn't see his horns. His pale skin was paler then usual and dark circles had developed under his eyes making the yellow look like it was shining. Shock moved to run to him but stopped when she saw how crazed he looked.

"Lock?" she said unsurely. "Are you ok?"

"It's perfect," he said, scratching his head roughly.

"What's perfect?" Barrel asked in confusion. Lock didn't answer. He stepped forward and grabbed Shock by the wrist, yanking her back up the staircase.

"Ouch! Lock what_ is_ it!?" Shock yelled trying to wrestle free of her child hood friend. No luck. Lock was a lot stronger than he used to be.

He pulled her up to his room and let go of her wrist once they were inside. Shock at first thought his room looked exactly the same if not a bit messier and then the east wall caught her eye. She turned to it and saw what looked like a map of the entire town including the forest was burned onto the rotting wood.

"Woah," she breathed, stepping closer. Every building in the town was labeled along with every section of the forest. The only thing out of place on the map was a line running through it from their tree house to the town hall and then to the mayors house. Wherever the line stopped there was a clock branded next to it. Shock's eyebrows furrowed and she turned back to Lock who was staring at the giant mural with pride.

"What is this?" she wondered aloud. Lock grinned and stepped forward, turning her back around by her shoulders.

"This," he said motioning towards the map, "is your going away present. The perfect prank to retire with."

With his arm slung over her shoulder, Shock could see that Lock had burns running up his arms and that the tips of his fingers seemed nearly charred. She pulled away from him and placed her hands firmly on her hips, annoyance spread across her face.

"_This_ is why you've been locked up in here for three days? A prank!? You have got to be kidding me, Lock!"

"What!?" Lock barked angrily. He'd worked his tail off trying to find a prank worthy of Shock and now he had and she didn't even appreciate it. Women!

"I'm leaving in four days! The least you could do is help me pack or spend some time with me or…something!" Shock moved to leave but Lock grabbed her elbow and glared at her.

"Look! I already said I'm ok with you leaving us but I will_ not_ help you pack! Not ever! And this _is_ spending time with you! This is one last thing we can do together before you leave! What more do you want!?" He pushed her away and she struggled to regain her balance.

Rubbing her eyes roughly Shock glanced at the map again. She could tell Lock had spent a lot of time on it and she knew this was the only way he could express himself. She didn't want to spend her last few days with him playing some elaborate prank but she did want to spend them _with him_. She would suck it up for him.

"Nothing," she said, her shoulders sagging. Lock raised an eyebrow at her as she turned back to the map. It was like she'd had a complete mood swing.

"So…you'll do it?" he asked unsurely. Shock kept to the map, arms crossed over her small chest before turning to him, eyes flashing mischievously like when they were younger.

"Yes. How soon can we get started?" she asked, grinning. Lock smiled wickedly, his sharp teeth flashing in the sunlight that came in through the window.

"Tonight."

* * *

**Can't be sure when the next update will be since I'm in school so hope everyone liked this! :D **

**Thanks for reading!  
~monie**


	6. Let the Flames Begin

"What exactly are we-"

"Shush!" Lock growled angrily at Barrel. Shock rolled her eye but smiled none the less. It was just like old times. The trio snuck stealthily through the darkness surrounding the mayor's house.

She was leading the way, Barrel being sandwiched in the middle, and Lock bringing up the rear. He had a giant barrel hauled over his shoulder. They had taken it from the vampires' mansion. It would come in handy soon enough.

"Ok," Shock whispered, waving over her shoulder. "We're here."

The other two moved to her sides as the mayor's house loomed over them in the moonlight. Lock smiled and his yellow eyes flashed mischievously.

"Lets get started,' he said confidently, moving off to the side. Shock and barrel nodded, splitting up to their designated positions.

Shock crouched down low to the ground, hidden in the tall weeds as she crept around the side of the house. Glancing around, she slunk to tone of the back windows and pulled her wand from her deep dress pocket. With a flick of her wrist the window unlocked and flew open loudly. She gritted her teeth at the noise and quickly slid into the house replacing her wand. She moved one leg over the window sill and then the other before crouching to the dusty floor.

She surveyed the inside of the house and smirked. It was completely covered in dust and filthy, like most houses in Halloween Town. The only difference was this house had only two levels as opposed to the usual three or more.

"Perfect," she breathed, moving silently across the creaky floor. Moving in front of a fire place, she quickly closed the flute hatch with a resounding _click_. Smiling, she quickly tip toed to the staircase and peered up. Nothing but darkness peered back. Glancing over her shoulder into the empty living room she started up the staircase.

She reached the second level and almost jumped when she was greeted by a loud grating noise. Snoring? The mayor must have been snoring. She snickered, considering his room was all the way down the hall, he was snoring pretty loudly. She crept to the first door of three in the hallway and pushed it open. Glancing quickly inside she didn't see what she was looking for and left the door ajar.

At the next room there was another fire place. Skipping to it, she again closed the flute hatch and exited the room, door open. The last room was the mayor's master bed room, pushing the door open she winced as it groaned in protest. The mayor's snoring cut, making her freeze, before starting up again, louder than before. Sticking her head in, black hair falling over her shoulder she stifled a laugh as the mayor's head turned continuously. Constantly changing moods, even in his sleep.

Spotting the fireplace right across from the bed, Shock moved inch by inch to it. She pulled the flute hatch close as quietly as possible and sighed when it was done. Straightening up, she glanced at the mayor before retreating from the room, faster than she had come. She moved through the hallway quickly, smiling to herself. As she passed the one room with no fireplace she closed the door lightly before descending the stair case.

Making it to the living room again she turned in a circle once before spotting the back door. Moving to it she undid the dead bolt as gently as she could before letting it swing outwards. Lock was waiting on the other side. Smiling, his bright teeth gleaming in the moonlight, he adjusted the barrel on his shoulder and winked at her.

"There's a fireplace in here, a bedroom upstairs, and the master bedroom, I left the doors open for you." Shock whispered, stepping into the cold night air. It had grown slightly windy and Lock kept a hand on the door to keep it from banging against the side of the house.

The teen devil nodded before slipping into the house. Lock leaned against the door and waved at Barrel who was crouching in a bush near by. He gave her the thumbs up and smiled with rotten teeth. She pushed her wild hair behind her ears and listened as Lock made his way around the house.

The barrel was filled with weird black powder the vampires used. It lined all their walls and they set fire to it to get light during the night. They had it in barrels upon the hundreds and wouldn't miss just one half empty barrel. Shock chewed on her lip nervously for a few more minutes before Lock reappeared.

"Done," he smirked, nodding to Barrel. The troublesome trio retreated into the near by forest to settle down for the show. The wind whipped through their thin clothes and Shock shivered. Lock linked an arm around her and pulled her to his unnaturally warm side. She blushed in the darkness and kept her eyes on the house.

Within a few minutes the teens noticed wisps of black smoke flowing from the open downstairs window. They cheered lowly and waited for it to get better. Within thirty minutes the house looked like it was ready to explode from all the smoke flowing out. As the boys laughed loudly, Shock kept a careful lookout as to how much smoke the house was taking on. Immediately after hearing the whole plan for the first time Shock had been against it but lightened up. She had simply added another component to it.

"Ok, Barrel," she said seriously. "Get to it."

"Aw, Shock, just a little longer," Barrel begged between fits of laughter. "He'll wake up."

"Barrel, now!" Shock hissed furiously, turning all her attention on her youngest cohort.

"But, Shock-"

"Barrel, just do it," Lock growled, knowing this wasn't a point to argue with Shock about.

"Fine," the pudgy boy grumbled, waddling out from their hiding place. The other two watched as Barrel approached the house. They both plugged their ears as he sucked in a deep breath and let out a bone chilling scream.

There was a loud shout from inside the house and suddenly the top floor window was yanked open, letting smoke billow out. A pair of flailing arms could be seen from behind the smoke and when it cleared enough the distressed face of the mayor came into view.

"Help! Help! My house is on fire!" he wailed, in desperation, his wide body swaying dangerously out the window. The trio busted into hysterical fits of laughter and the mayor looked down onto the forest below. "The Boogie Boys!?"

"Eat our soot, mayor!" Lock yelled, laughing hysterically. Shock smirked as she saw the mayor retreat into the window. It was immediately wiped from her face as she saw him reappear, head spinning wildly.

"What's he doing?" she asked curiously as his arms flailed over the sill. A pile of smoking powered was thrown from the window and landed in the brush behind the house.

"He's throwing the powder out," Lock said in shock as the mayor retreated again. The three watched him repeat this act three times before a low glow caught Shock's eye.

"Lock!" she yelled, tugging on his arm. "He's lighting the house on fire!" She pointed to the pile of ash and sure enough, all the rustling and wind had ebbed the small flames and they were now growing in size.

"Barrel, get away from there!" Lock yelled as the flames suddenly burst totally to life and started stretching out to the surrounding forest.

"Run!" Shock yelled.

**Sorry for the insanely long wait! Hope I still have some faithful readers!  
****Thanks for reading!  
****~monie**


	7. Ashes, Ashes We All Fall Down

"Hurry, hurry, run!" Shock said, ushering Barrel along quickly. The chubby teen was having trouble keeping up and the forest was quickly being engulfed in flames. Smoke was starting to surround them and it was getting hard to see and breathe. Lock was leading them through the confusion as best he could but soon Shock lost site of his tail and Barrel was slowing down considerably.

"No, no, no! Come on, Barrel! We have to catch up with Lock!" the small witch cried desperately, trying to support the younger boy's weight on her shoulder.

"I can't – do it – Shock," Barrel gasped around coughing fits. Shock shrieked as a tree to their right went up in flames. Now she could hear people from town screaming from beyond the flames. Probably none of them could see them though.

"HELP!" she screamed as loud as her scorched lungs could manage. "LOCK! JACK! ANYONE – HELP!"

A flaming branch fell just inches from them and she yanked Barrel's dead weight off to a smoldering circle of dead bushes. He had slipped into unconsciousness now and Shock was sweating from the extreme heat and the effort of dragging him along.

Pulling out her wand, she stifled a coughing fit against her sleeve and tried to think of a quick spell. Glancing back at Barrel she flashed back to her own death and started panicking slightly. Think, think! Barrel won't last much longer!

Finally it came to her and she started muttering under her breath, wand aimed at the oncoming flames. Slowly but surely a ring of cool water appeared around her and Barrel. It would hold off the fire, but not for long. And the smoke was still swirling all around them.

"Come on, come on," she breathed, sweat dripping down her neck. Suddenly she was thrown forward as a branch land on her. She yelped as she smacked hard against the ground, wand flying from her grasp. The ring of water evaporated immediately and the flames grew closer. Shock tried to wiggle her way over to Barrel, but the branch was too heavy. She had managed to pull herself nearly totally out from under it when the fire suddenly reached her.

She yelled as the flames engulfed the branch, scorching her ankle. The flames burned away the fabric of her sock and started licking into her skin. She screamed in agony and tried to yank away but her arms were shaking too badly to pull her free. She coughed and sputtered between screams, the branch burning mercilessly into her ankle. Finally, eyes watering from the smoke and throat sore from screaming, she blacked out, from the pain and lack of oxygen. It was like dying all over again.

* * *

"Lock!" Jack Skellington yelled as the young devil collapsed just outside the forest. Covered in ash he was only recognizable by his horns. He was shaking as he tried to cough his lungs clean. Jack rested a bony hand on his shoulder and shook him angrily.

"What happened?" he demanded. Lock continued coughing, shaking his head to clear it.

"Shock," he coughed. "Barrel."

"Where are they?!" Jack all but shouted. Lock pointed behind him before collapsing, unconsciousness, at the Pumpkin King's feet. "Sally!"

The concerned rag doll rushed over from her place in the line of town's folk trying to contain the fire. "Is Lock alright?" she asked worriedly, kneeling besides the young man, and resting a hand on his dirty head.

"I'm not sure," Jack answer truthfully. "But Shock and Barrel are still in there. I have to save them." With that, he stood to full height and loped into the smoking forest.

"Be careful Jack!" Sally called after her husband before turning back to Lock's still form.

* * *

"Shock? Barrel!" Jack called into the fiery depths of the forest. There was no answer. A tree collapsed near by and he knew he had to work fast and find them or they'd be goners. And once you died in the after life, you never came back.

"Kids! Where are you?!" Suddenly there was a fit of coughing and he spun on the spot. Rushing forward he leapt over a flaming log and found a semi circle of flaming plants surrounding the two unconsciousness teens. Barrel was lying face down, covered in ash and Shock's ankle was trapped beneath a smoldering branch as she lay on her back, mouth hanging open. The smell of burning flesh let Jack know that it had been on fire at one point.

His eye sockets widened in concern and he hurried to the young witch's side. Realizing that checking for a pulse was useless, he effortlessly lifted the branch from her leg and hoisted her up into one arm, cradling her like an infant. Moving quickly to Barrel, he hoisted the boy over his shoulder and stepped over the bushes and away from the fire pit.

Hurrying quickly through the forest, Jack did his best to be gentle with the children as he carried them to safety. Once he cleared the forest he saw that the entire town was present now, trying to put out the fire. Glancing around he noticed Sally had managed to pull Lock further away from the forest and turn him over. He rushed to her side to lay the other two down.

"He's not looking too good, Jack," Sally lamented sadly.

"Yes, well neither are these two," Jack grunted as he rolled Barrel off his shoulder and to the ground. Sally gasped at the sight of the three teens laid out together, all unmoving and unresponsive.

Lock probably looked the best of them and he looked awful covered in soot, and burned in many places. Barrel was covered head to toe in coal black ash and even though his mouth hung open, the blackness invaded there making it obvious he had breathed in the dangerous fumes. Shock's dress had been singed to being near unrecognizable and her ankle was charred so badly that the black flesh looked as if it were falling off.

Was this the end of the troubles trio?

**First person to guess how Shock died before getting to Halloween town gets a cookie!! Hope everyone liked this!  
****Thanks for reading!  
****~monie**


	8. Wake Up

CONFUSION.

Shock groaned as she came to. Everything at once took on a startling clarity and she flinched away from it. There was a mixed murmuring not far from where she lay and she struggled to open her eyes. What was going on here?

Her eyes creaked open with great difficulty and she groaned again as sunlight burned them from where it was streaking in through a near by window. In too much pain to turn her head, she stared straight up at the ceiling in horror. Shock tried to sit up, finally realizing she was in bed, but her body protested; screaming in exhaustion. The garbled murmuring continued. She could almost make it out now…

"Shock can you here me?"

Her eyes raced around in their sockets to find the source of the voice. Thank Oogie, she wasn't alone! Her dark purple/green eyes finally landed on the pumpkin kings as he crouched down next to her. She'd never thought she'd be so happy to see the thwarting skeleton but something similar to relieved tears sprang to her eyes as she look at him now, a concerned crease in his skull.

"Lock?" the name came out scratched and broken and now tears of pain flowed over her cheeks as her scorched throat flared up. Jack looked confused and leaned closer to hear her. She beckoned him ever closer with her eyes until the side of his white skull was practically resting on her mouth.

"Lock?" she breathed again, unable to drag her voice above a pained whisper.

Jack straightened now, looking down at her worriedly. Shock's formally un-beating heart seemed to sputter. Was Lock ok? Had he made it out of the forest? Her breathing became ragged, her burning throat starting to blaze even more. Where was Lock? And Barrel too! Had either of her friends made it out of there undead? Why wasn't he saying anything?!

"Lock!" she croaked, eyes bleary now with desperate tears. She couldn't remember ever feeling so weak. Not since Oogie had died. "Barrel!"

Jack rested a bony hand on her trembling shoulder and she was powerless to push it away. Her head had managed to roll to the side now and she pressed her face into the side of the pillow, willing her body to turn over. The skeleton king started to retreat from her bed side and her outstretched hand was about ten seconds too late to stop him.

She forced herself into a sitting position, intent on top of him. As she dragged her legs across the bottom of the bed, a pain from her ankle shot up her leg. She bit her tongue, fighting back a scream she knew would rip her throat to shreds and shuddered. How bad of a shape was she in? She turned back to Jack, hoping to hide her moment of agony

Noticing the curtain behind him for the first time, she let out the breath she'd been holding in as he pulled it back to reveal a sleeping Lock. She let out another shaky breath and closed her eyes to fight off the tears of relief. Opening them again she studied her friend and couldn't help herself from thinking that he looked terrible. He had bandaged rapped all over his arms and if possible, was even paler than usual.

"Paul," she whimpered his real name, begging him silently to wake up. He didn't.

She visibly settled down and cast a thankful look to Jack. She had no doubt in her mind that he had saved them both. He moved again and her eyes followed him as he crossed the room that she now realized was Dr. Finklestein's lab turned infirmary. He approached the bed opposite hers and she sighed again as she noticed Barrel lying there, content in some sort of dream. Jack leaned in close to Barrel for a moment before straightening up again.

He made it back to Shock's bedside just as she collapsed back onto her pillow, exhausted from all the moving she'd done. He gave her a concerned look, but she just smiled back up at him, eyelids drooping. She hadn't smiled sincerely at anyone for a long time and she knew she caught the skeleton off guard. He leaned down to her again, seeming to know she had something to say.

"Thank you, Jack," she murmured before letting herself be dragged into the darkness of blissful sleep once more.

* * *

PAIN.

Lock gasped as he sat bolt upright. As soon as his brain caught up to his actions, he howled in pain as his tender arms felt like they were dipped in fire. He lowered himself back gently onto the bed and tried to coach himself into taking deep steady breaths. At the same time he was starting to wonder just where the hell he was. The last thing he remembered was staggering out of the flaming forest and realizing Shock and Barrel weren't with him.

Shock!

He jumped up again, hissing as his body yelled at him in pain. He ignored it though as his eye scanned the immediate area. He noticed Barrel lying in a bed across the room and let a brief feeling of release wash over him. But where was Shock? Was she alright? Was she even here? If not did she know where to find him? Could she find him? Was she dead?! He blocked this thought from his head immediately and grit his sharp teeth in determination, horns growing from beneath his hair. He would find her.

Having had enough of this guessing game, he tossed aside the blanket he was currently tucked under. Thanking whoever had housed them for leaving his clothes on, he groaned as he inched his way out of the bed. It was that he was physically sore, but the burns on his skin were still fresh and sensitive to the touch. His bare feet touched the ground and he hissed lowly as his muscles tense from supporting his body weight.

He swayed a bit before taking a tentative step forward. Another, louder hiss escaped him and he stumbled forward, clutching at a nearby curtain to steady himself. His tail swished angrily behind him and his eyes grew yellow in annoyance. He wasn't this weak! Breathing deeply he took another step - and another - and another, until he released the curtain, confident on his own two feet again. He staggered forward, eyes searching the room for a tangle of black her or a glimpse of a purple dress. He limped towards the edge of the curtain, ready to wake up Barrel to begin the search when he glanced over his shoulder.

Shock!

He spun, nearly losing balance and again having to grip the now protesting curtain. He helped himself over to her bedside and perched on the edge, tail lying protectively over her lap. Lock turned his head this way and that, observing Shock's face. She was sleeping. Her hair was wild and pretty around her creamy face and her breath came in ragged gasps. A burn mark darkened the right hand side of her face. Lock glared at it.

Was this his fault? Was his anger and jealousy over losing Shock what had driven them all to this crazy plan and nearly killed her? Had _he_ nearly killed her? His decidedly empty stomach plunged at the thought. He shook his head. No. No, he could never do anything to hurt Shock. Not intentionally. He lo-

He cut the thought off, too afraid to admit it even to himself. Glancing down, he noticed Shock's delicate hand resting over her slowly moving stomach. He took the small appendage into his own hand and held it tightly. She was leaving him. He frowned. No she wasn't dying but within hours she'd wake up and then within days she'd heal and be off to live with the other witches.

"Catherine?" His voice had to be forced passed his shaky lips as he stared deeply into her unresponsive face.

Had Shock (Catherine) opened her eyes at that moment she would have been the only one to ever witness a stray tear travel down the devil's face before evaporating into nothingness on his jaw line. His dead heart seemed to be breaking at that moment.

He loved her.

* * *

RELIEF.

Barrel sat happily in his borrowed bed, devouring a lollipop that Sally had brought to cheer him up. Nearly suffocating and watching your friends burned a live can be very traumatizing to one so freshly dead. He hummed a pleasant tune to himself. He couldn't remember the last time anyone in town had dared to sing 'Making Christmas'. That whole year had become taboo.

He stared amusedly at his two friends directly across from him now. Lock had fallen asleep clutching Shock's hand and was now lying half on-half off her bed, his face pushed into the cushion that was her wild hair. Shock hadn't seemed to move all that much except that she was now turned slightly toward Lock and her other hand had moved to cover the one of his that was already clutching her other. They looked –dare he think it- cute.

He had been awake the longest of them all and had heard all of and witnessed part of both of his friends' near break downs. What he couldn't understand was how they didn't seem to realize they were in love just yet. He licked his lollipop contemplatively. Were they stupid or something?  
Everyone took Barrel to be a pretty dense character but in actuality not much got by the chubby teenager. He'd noticed for years the way Lock stared after Shock and the way Shock seemed to gravitate towards Lock in return. Saying they weren't in love was like saying the same thing about Jack and Sally. Untrue.

He chuckled to himself, now starting to gnaw on his candy. He wasn't jealous in anyway that both Shock and Lock seemed more worried about each other than himself. In all honesty he'd worried enough about himself for the three of them. he was just relieved that they were all fine and would be going home soon.

Well of course Shock wouldn't be there long, and Barrel got the feeling that if she wasn't there long then Lock wouldn't be either. Crazy devil. He'd follow that witch to the end of Christamas Town and back. Made him want to laugh. So he did.

He laughed long and loud and only laughed harder when he noticed that the noise made his older cohorts flinch and curl further into each other. Shaking his head he snorted and continued to devour his treat. The door creaked open softly and he turned his round head to the side.

"Are you okay in here, Danny?" Sally the ragdoll asked worriedly having heard his laughing from down the hall and taken it as crying. He nodded, smiling, and motioned with his eyes over to Shock and Lock.

Sally raised a confused stitch of an eyebrow before she noticed the two teens and smiled sweetly. She rested her mix matched hands over her woolen heart and sighed in a girlish way. Barrel snickered again. Mrs. Skellington made her way over to his bed silently and perched on the edge.

"They're so cute," she cooed, voicing his earlier forbidden thought. He nodded in agreement, the cracking of the sucker between his teeth taking the place of his voice.

"Mhm," he mumbled over the muffled crunching sound.

He was happy for his friends obviously. He'd always known they would end up together. This of course meant that their trio would become a duo but he couldn't bring himself to care. He had become scarily unselfish after Oogie's death and wouldn't blame his friends if they left him. Birds of a feather didn't always flock together.

Still he smiled in relief that the future was looking up and flashed a row of rotten teeth at Sally. The thread of her mouth pulled up into a smile and she patted his head lightly. After disposing of his now bare lollipop stick, she tucked him in with all the care of a mother hen. Barrel snickered again.

"Do you need anything, Danny?" she asked, again using his real name that he had decided to trust her with. He shook his head 'no' and settled down on his cot. She smiled before retreating from the room. Barrel cast one more glance at his sleeping friends before turning onto his side and surrendering to a sugar nap.

* * *

**Hey guys! Sorry its been so long since I've update! Crazy times, believe you me! but anyway I hope everyone enjoyed this. at first it was more of a space filler to let you all know I hadn't abandoned this story but it's actually turned out to be a really important chapter that was fun to write from all the different views :D**

**Thanks for reading!  
~monie**

**p.s. i bet no one was expecting Barrel to be that intuitive were they? :D haha, me either!**

**p.p.s. I got their real names from the actors that voiced them incase anyone was wondering why I picked those specifically. Ok that's it! Byeee! **


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